After much criticism, Reading decided to embrace its less than perfect Norway spruce Christmas tree.

After much criticism, Reading decided to embrace its less than perfect Norway spruce Christmas tree. (FRANK WARNER/THE MORNING CALL)

Daniel KelleyReuters

Reading decides to keep ugly Christmas tree to honor true spirit of the season

A scraggly Christmas tree has stood for weeks in the downtrodden heart of Reading, Berks County — one of the poorest cities in America.

To some, the woeful timber reminiscent of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was an eyesore, with droopy, sparse needles making its skeletal branches visible for all to see.

One local resident said the tree was so ugly that birds would not land on it, local television station, WFMZ, reported. The president of Reading's City Council raised money to replace it.

But others grew to love the Norway Spruce that had been harvested from the hills surrounding the city and saw in its spindly reflection an image of the hard-scrabble, rust belt city itself.

So after plans to remove the ugly Christmas tree were canceled due to an upcoming snow storm, city officials cast around for something to do with it. City officials said they received numerous offers of help to replace it.

FRANK WARNER, THE MORNING CALL

A single bulb ornament decorates the Norway Spruce that has caused much controversy in downtown Reading, Berks County. Many called the tree ugly and wanted it removed, but the city has decided to keep it as a symbol of the hardscrabble rust belt city.

A single bulb ornament decorates the Norway Spruce that has caused much controversy in downtown Reading, Berks County. Many called the tree ugly and wanted it removed, but the city has decided to keep it as a symbol of the hardscrabble rust belt city. (FRANK WARNER, THE MORNING CALL)

Eventually, officials hit on a novel solution. At a re-dedication ceremony, slated for Saturday but postponed due to rain, it was to be adorned with a single red bulb, much like Charlie Brown's scrawny tree in the 1965 animated holiday television special that has become a Christmas classic.

"We hope that this reminds all who are following the story of our tree of the deeper meaning of the holiday season," the city said in a statement.

The tree came to town after the work crew set out to get a nicer tree but, prevented by rainy weather, chopped down the more easily accessible Norway Spruce as a last-minute alternative, according to CBS News.

Like the famed cartoon tree, Reading's evergreen will not remain forlorn for long. A local minor-league hockey team, the Reading Royals, has donated ornaments, and a local real estate agent has donated the use of a bucket truck to drape them on its branches.